The Power of Love
by Elisabeth BK
Summary: Angel and the AI team decide to go on vacation and the trip leads them right to Rome, where Buffy and her friends have headed after the fight with the First. Plus, Angel's soul is bound, so it's gonna be an interesting vacation...
1. Chapter 1

**The Power of Love**

**Pairing: Buffy/Angel (what else ;-))**

**Spoilers: Buffy Season 7 and Angel Season 4**

**Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters and I don't use them to make money. Nothing's mine but the idea to the story.**

**So, this is my first fanfiction story, I hope you like it. Please give me feedback!!**

Los Angeles, Wolfram&Hart Building

Angel and the whole team were sitting at the big table in Angel's new office. They hadn't even had a lot of time to even talk with each other since they had taken over the LA branch of W&H, so Angel had decided it was time to take some time off and go on holiday together. And that was exactly what the vampire with a soul wanted to tell the others now. Plus, he had just gotten word from Giles that the Slayer and her friends had survived the battle with the first evil. Sunnydale was nothing more than a scratch on the landscape but Buffy and her friends had survived and they were heading for Rome now to make a short pause in battling vampires and demons. Also, Buffy had decided it was time to let the potentials take over her slaying, at least for some time. Giles had mentioned by the way that Willow had performed some spell which made all the potentials in the world to real slayers. Angel had been so relieved to hear that Buffy was alright that he had barely heard all the other information. When the vampire had visited Sunnydale shortly before the big battle, he had wanted nothing more than to stay there with her. That visit had been right after the Angel Investigations team had taken over W&H in LA and part of the deal with W&H had been that Angel's soul would be bound, never to be lost again. He had wanted to tell Buffy, but when he had smelt Spike on her he thought it better not to tell her.

But now Spike was dead, as Giles had informed him, and Buffy was in Rome with her friends. And the AI team really needed a vacation. So, why not go to Rome?

"Okay, guys. We didn't really have a lot of time since we moved here and we also didn't get to see each other very much so I thought maybe it'd be nice to go on a holiday, you know, together?", Angel began.

"Actually, that's a good idea. That way we could spend some time together and also talk about how we want to go on.", meant Wesley. The others were equally enthusiastic about the trip they were going to make. Fred asked, "But, where are we gonna go?"

"I thought about Rome. I mean Rome is very beautiful and it's nice weather there..."

"Aaah, Rome, I see. Say, Angel isn't that where Buffy is at the moment?", Wesley said, pretty amused. So, Angel wanted to see Buffy, probably tell her about the curse, and he certainly didn't want to go alone. Angel just murmured,"Could be...."

Now the whole team knew what was up. Gunn spoke for all of them, "Man, just go to her and tell her. You said, she kissed you, when you came to Sunnydale, although she probably had a thing with this Spike guy. Just take a flight to Rome in this neat private jet of yours and go ahead and talk to her. You love her and she loves you, no problem there. But we're sure as hell gonna come with ya, cause I really need a holiday."

"Hear, hear, he's a clever man. I'm with him in this, Angel cakes, you just gotta tell her.", Lorne said.

"Okay, so go home, pack your bags and tomorrow, we're flying to Rome!"

To Buffy, Angel thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N: Here's chapter two! Enjoy it and please send feedback ;-)!**

The next morning Angel, Wesley, Fred, Gunn and Lorne met at W&H and then took off with the private jet. Everybody was chatting cheerfully except for Angel.

He sat alone in a corner, brooding. He had spent the whole night with brooding. He had tried to figure out how to tell Buffy, if he should tell her right away or wait for the perfect moment, when that perfect moment would be, if there would ever be a perfect moment, etc. Buffy and he had been through so much, together and on their own. Still, right now, he felt like one of those teenage boys who didn't know how to ask that special girl out. It had been exactly like that in the very beginning of their relationship. He had known that he shouldn't ask her out, that it was dangerous, but still he had wanted to get to know her more and to have a real relationship with her. It had been really hard when he finally had asked her out, that evening after she had almost been sacrificed at the fraternity party. But afterwards he had been really glad that he had asked her for a date.

And now he felt just as anxious as back then. He didn't know what awaited him in Rome. Would Buffy even want to see him, would she already have a new boyfriend, and all that stuff was running through his head, when suddenly the pilot said that they would soon be landing in Rome, but that there was rain and hail and wind so they would probably need a little longer.

Angel groaned, half annoyed, half grateful. On the one hand he just wanted to get to Buffy now, but on the other he still didn't have any answers to the questions on his mind. He didn't know what to feel anymore, so he just closed his eyes and tried to shut his brain up a little. And it worked. He dozed off, only to wake up half an hour later when Wesley gently shook him to get him to wake up. Wes told him, "Angel. We just landed. You don't have to worry about the sunlight, it's already after twilight."

"So, does anybody know where this Buffy chic lives because I think we should get this over with pretty soon so we can get on with our vacation. Plus, it's raining on me and I really don't like hail. And it looks like the thunder and lightening are not very far away anymore. So, let's get it done!", Gunn spoke what all the others thought, except for Angel who was really nervous now that they had landed in Rome. And that spelled trouble since the vampire was never nervous, only around Buffy. Angel didn't say anything. He just walked forward to lead the way to the address that Giles had given him.

They were walking for ten minutes when suddenly Angel stood still and stared at the building in front of him. His mouth dropped open and his eyes nearly popped out. It was a very, very big mansion, looking very Greek with its pillars, and very elegant. It was an astonishing building and they could all just stare at it, when suddenly the door opened and a remarkably beautiful young woman came out. She had wonderful, very long, dark brown hair and was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans and a white blouse.

She looked up into the sky to check on the weather and then decided to wear the jacket she was holding in her hands. Only then did she notice all the people standing directly in front of the steps which led to the front porch of the house.

Angel whispered, "Buffy!" He couldn't believe how gorgeous she looked with the new haircut all in dark brown. "Oh, my...", Buffy whispered and then she practically flew down the steps and in two seconds she was in Angels arms. She was hugging him so tightly that he thought he would break but it didn't really matter to him.

They were standing there in the rain like that for what seemed like hours until Wesley cleared his throat very loudly. Only then did the two lovers part and Buffy looked at all of them. "Hey, Wes. Hey, all the others that I don't know, yet. Come on, lets go inside it's pretty wet and cold out here." So she took Angel's hand and led them into the mansion.

It looked even more amazing inside and it was really big and elegant and it looked as if it would belong to a film star. When they all came into the living room, they saw that the whole group was there sitting on several couches. Angel recognized most of them but the others were all quite astonished by the large group in front of them. Buffy said, "Come on, sit down, we have plenty of space here. Okay, so let's begin with the names. I'm Buffy, that's Giles, Willow, Kennedy, Xander, Faith, Andrew, Dawn and Robin."

"Well, that's Wesley, Fred, Gunn and Lorne, and I'm Angel." Giles meant, "Okay, well, may I ask why you are here, I mean is there any apocalyptic catastrophe, do you require our help?"

"Giles, think about something else than any demonic activities please. We just averted a major apocalypse, okay. Give us some quiet time."

"Well, that's actually why we're here. We wanted to take some time off and we thought Rome was just the place to do it." "Yeah, that and also our money was barely enough for the flight and Andrew said he knew some place where we could crash for free.", Dawn agreed. "So, where are you staying? Cause if you have nowhere to go you could stay here, you know. I mean, we have a lot of space, it's a big house, and we don't mind company, do we?", Buffy meant. Willow was the one who answered, "No, it's cool. It's kinda like old times with Angel here and Wesley. It's gonna be fun, our vacation." She knew how much Buffy had missed Angel. Buffy had told her that she had wanted to run off to Los Angeles the minute the fight had been over. She had missed him so much since he had been in Sunnydale but she had been afraid to call him after the whole 'cookie dough' speech and the thing with Spike. But she knew that Angel was the one she really wanted and really loved with all her heart and the rest didn't matter. Now, all Buffy had to do was to find out if that was why he had come to see her or if he just wanted them to stay friends. And Willow hoped for Buffy that Angel was really willing to give their relationship another try. "Andrew and Dawn, why don't you show the others their rooms?", Buffy asked politely and everyone stood up and went other ways. Now it was just Buffy and Angel standing there, looking at each other in an awkward silence. They stood like that for several minutes until Angel finally said, "Could we... talk?" Buffy answered,"Talk? Yeah, sure. We could talk here or, you know what, let's go upstairs to my room, down here, the walls have ears!" When the two of them passed the hall they saw Xander and Willow kneeling on the ground near the entrance to the living room saying "Dammit!" in unison.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy and please review ;-)!**

As Angel and Buffy were climbing up the staircase, they could hear the thunder outside and the rain falling onto the roof of the mansion. The weather was similar to how Buffy felt. Angel had said that he wanted to talk, but what did he want to talk about? Did he have a girlfriend? Or did he want to be together with her again? Why was he here, in Rome, in her house? All these were questions she had to ask him, to know the answers nowadays. Before, when they had been together she often knew what was up with him, although mostly he had been so cryptic that she could only guess.

They came into her room. It was a big room, the furniture was just as elegant here as in all the other rooms, and there was a big window. Trough the window Angel could see the green lawn and the beautiful flowers in the garden. They sat down on her bed, no one was speaking. They were both looking around, not knowing how to begin.

When Buffy couldn't stand the silence anymore, she just began, "Well, for us to have a conversation, at least one of us should talk." "This is weird", Angel stated,"Okay, so Giles told me everything that happened, you know, when you fought the First. He called me afterwards to tell me that everything went down all right." "Yeah, I know. He told me about it." "I just wondered that Giles called me. I...Well, actually, I expected that you'd call. Why didn't you call, Buffy?" "I...I don't know. I mean, it was a hell of a fight, and we won, and all the potentials were made real slayers and I suddenly realized that I could lead a normal life now, without slaying every night. And the first thing I thought about then was you, and that I would like nothing more than come to LA the same instant. But then I recalled that stupid cookie analogy I told you the other night and I realized how stupid that was. I mean, I don't need time to bake, I'm done baking. I was done baking even when I told you it would take years if ever. I always knew that someday we would get a chance, because life couldn't be so unfair not to let me be with my one true love and never give our love a second chance. What I'm saying is, I missed you. Since the first day that you were gone, I missed you. And it got worse over the years. When I was with Riley and with Spike, you were still the only one I really loved. And I never cared about all those reasons why you left me. You told me that you loved me and that was the only thing that mattered. I will never have a completely normal life because I will always be the slayer, that's never gonna change, it's who I am! And I don't want a normal boyfriend, been there, done that and you see how well it worked out! And I don't want anyone but you! Plus, I don't really care about kids, I mean I never pictured myself as the mum type. And your curse? Well, Willow is a Goddess nowadays, so I imagine she could surely come up with some spell to bind your soul! And, if you don't have any other stupid reasons why we shouldn't be together, could we give our relationship a try again, please?"

Angel was flabbergasted by her little speech. Could he really have been so blind? Those things were what he had wanted for her, we he thought that she would want. But that was obviously not what she wanted.

"Angel?", Buffy asked with a small voice. She was anxious. She hadn't wanted to spill so much but it had just all flowed out. She had been suppressing that for so long and now it came out.

"Buffy, I don't know what to say. I...I came here to tell you that my soul had been bound. I signed a contract with W&H, an evil law firm. We took over the LA branch and they promised to bind my soul, it was a part of the deal. And I wanted to tell you that I'm tired of staying away from you. I want you, and I want to be together with you from now on."

"Really?" "Yes!" Then he just took her face in his hands and kissed her. His hands were on her back, caressing her, pressing her closer to him and her hands were in his hair. Buffy fell back onto the bed and Angel followed, looming over her. The kiss began slow and chaste but when it grew more passionate and intense they were interrupted by a loud bang. The bang was followed by a scream and the sound of a breaking glass. The two of them parted, looked at each other for a second, and then ran out of the room and down the stairs. On their way they met most of the others running downstairs too, towards the sound.

Entering the living room, they saw Willow, Giles and Kennedy standing there in the middle of the pieces of broken glass from a window. "Oh my God, what happened?", Buffy rushed to Willow, who was clutching a necklace, which looked like the ones Angel had worn back in the days, in her hands. "We...I tried to do a spell that would allow Angel to go into the sunlight if he's wearing the charm. But I guess it went wrong because suddenly there was this demon standing right in front of us. Kennedy tried to slay it. She struck it with that sword once and it fell. It got up and when she tried to strike again, it jumped directly out of the window!" "God, are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm okay!"

"We should go after it! Angel, come with me?", Buffy asked him. "Sure, I'm free!"

Buffy went to the weapons cabinet in the next room and packed a bag with some weapons. Angel took her hand and together they disappeared into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.: Here comes part four! Enjoy and please R&R!!! =)**

Once Buffy and Angel were outside, Angel stopped and tried to smell the demon. Kennedy had wounded him, so he should've been able to track down the scent of his blood. The rain made it a little bit more difficult, but soon the vampire knew exactly where to go. Buffy was right there at his side, following his wordless instructions, trusting his instincts.

The track was leading them to the nearest cemetery. The demon was standing with its back to them. As they approached, Buffy murmured,"Of course it had to go to the cemetery! If I spent one night somewhere else than at a cemetery, the world would end!" Angel chuckled slightly. She looked at him and smiled.

Then she took a sword out of her pocket and she just wanted to strike when the demon turned around and punched her in the face. The force of that blow sent her to the ground, almost knocking her out. "Buffy!", Angel screamed. He was furious now. No one hurt his Buffy! He changed into his game face and lunged himself at the demon, punching him in the face, then in the belly. But the demon fought back. Suddenly Angel saw that instead of a hand, the demon had a stick standing out of his arm. The demon hit Angel in the face until he was near unconsciousness and just as Buffy was about to stand up and help Angel, the demon plunged the needle-like stick into Angels stomach. Angel groaned in pain and Buffy screamed, "Angel!". She approached the demon and kicked it in the face, then in the belly. She slapped it and said,"Nobody...messes...with...my...boyfriend!", punctuating every word with another slap to its face. She kicked it some more and when the demon fell to the ground, she took the sword off the ground and violently stuck it into the demon's belly, killing it immediately.

Buffy ran over to Angel, hoping that he was okay, but he was still lying on the floor and that was definitely no good sign. He was unconscious, but at least he was still alive. She took out her cellphone and dialed Giles' number. "Giles? It's me, Buffy. Could you please pick me up at the cemetery with your car? Angel's been hurt badly and he's unconscious. Please, hurry!"

Only five minutes later Giles and Willow found Buffy in the middle of the cemetery sitting next to Angel, his hands in hers and she was whispering 'it's alright, you'll be okay, I'm there' in his ear as well as 'I love you'. Willow went to her and together they managed to get Angel into the backseat of the car, Buffy sitting beside him with his head in her lap.

"Buffy, what happened?", Giles asked with concern in his voice. "We followed the demon here and he hit me in the face. I fell backwards and Angel attacked him, but on his right arm he had a stick instead of a hand and he plunged the stick into Angel's stomach and Angel went unconscious. I killed the demon and then I called you immediately. But I think this is something serious. Angel started to burn up, his forehead is burning and he stayed unconscious the whole time!"

Willow tried to calm her,"Don't worry, Buffy. He'll be alright. We'll figure it out." Buffy was very grateful that her best friend was there,"Thanks, Will. I hope we are really able to figure it out. I can't let him die. Not now." "What do you mean not now?" "We are together again. We talked earlier. He told me that his soul was bound. We could really be together now!" "Oh, Buffy! I'm so glad for you. And I'm so sorry! It's all my fault. I conjured up this demon, I was so stupid. I forgot an ingredient, that's why it went wrong. But I did it again and it worked this time. So, we're gonna cure Angel and then you two can really be together, even in the sunlight!" Buffy tried to smile,"Thank you very much! And it's really not your fault. It could also have happened at some normal patrol."

"I told the others to find out what kind of demon it was. Kennedy and Willow gave us a good description earlier and if we're lucky, they already found something.", Giles filled Buffy in. She only murmured,"Thanks.", and stared down at Angel's face which was filled with pain.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5, enjoy! Please R&R!**

**Thanks again for the review Frenchsgirl23, hope you also like this chapter. **

Giles and Willow helped Buffy to get Angel into bed in her room. They carefully laid him down and covered him with the blanket.

"Buffy? We are gonna go downstairs, see what they found out. As soon as we know something, we'll tell you!", Willow said. "Thanks. I'll stay here, with Angel. Please, try to find a cure. And fast. He looks awful!", Buffy said with concern. "Okay."

Giles and Willow left the room and went into the living room, where everyone was gathering around a large table on which there were a lot of books piled up.

"This is hopeless!", Fred exclaimed, "We have been searching almost all of these books and we haven't got a clue which demon that was. And Angel is dying! I mean, what if we can't help him? What if we can't find a cure?" Wesley tried to calm her,"We will find a cure! We always found a cure and we will find one this time!"

Kennedy interrupted, "And if we don't it also doesn't matter! I mean, excuse me, but he's a vampire! I am a Slayer and I'm not gonna take the time to search for cures for vampires!" Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

Then Wesley spoke for everyone in the room, except for Kennedy,"We are all Angel's friends. Angel was there for us when we needed him and now we will be there for him! If you don't want to help us, you don't have to, but then don't be in our way!" "Fine! I won't! I'll go! Willow, come on!" Kennedy had presumed that Willow would be at her side, but the redhead was not gonna give up on Angel. "No, Kennedy! I won't go with you! Angel is one of my best friends. He rescued my life time and time again. And I couldn't do that to Buffy. They just came together again and he is the only one who can make her happy! She deserves this and I will do everything that I can to help to cure him!" Willow was really pissed of by Kennedy. "Fine! Then not, but I'll go! Good-bye!" And with that she was out of the door. No one dared to say a word for about five minutes. Then they started to discuss who would search where and for what exactly. Giles described what Buffy had told him about the demon and they all started to read in their books.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Buffy was still sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at Angel, hoping for him to wake up. She was getting really tired, the fight had taken a lot out of her, but she didn't want to leave him alone in case he woke up. So she sat there, tired, crying, praying, when his eyes twitched a little. Then he opened them and the first thing he saw was Buffy. He tried to smile at her but the pain was too strong. "Oh, God! You're awake!", Buffy cried. "Yeah. Sort of.", Angel whispered, "Have you been sitting here the whole time?" "Yeah, I didn't wanna leave you alone. How are you? Does it hurt a lot?" "No, actually it doesn't hurt so much. It's just like when Faith had shot me with the poisoned arrow.", Angel said, flinching in pain. "Do you think it's the same poison? Cause we have two or actually three slayers here and..." Angel interrupted her,"No, I don't think it's the same. And anyway, I wouldn't drink you or Faith or Kennedy." "Why not, if it would cure you?" "Well, for one thing, I think that Kennedy wouldn't let me bite her. Faith has done enough for me in these past years. And you, you are far too precious for me. It would probably kill you if I bit you, and if it didn't, I would at least hurt you. And I can't stand seeing you hurt. So forget it!" "Okay! Well, anyway, they are all downstairs, researching on that demon, trying to figure out a cure for you. But, wait! Slayer blood is one of the most powerful things in the world. And Giles said that Slayer blood could cure every poison that infects a vampire.", Buffy exclaimed. "No, Buffy! They will find a cure! A different one! I will not drink you and you can't make me!" Buffy thought back in time, when she had made Angel drink her, and stated, "As a matter of fact, I can!" "Okay, fine, you can. But you won't!", Angel said in a tone that wouldn't allow any more discussing. "Okay! You should really rest now. Who knows how long it's gonna take them to find a cure." At the last part her voice broke and a tear slid down her cheek. Angel wiped it away with his thumb. "Don't cry. They'll find something. And you should also rest. Come on, go to bed. Sleep a while." "I don't want to leave you alone.", Buffy stated, really scared that something could happen to him while she was asleep. "Okay, then stay here. The bed is big enough for the both of us. And I promise to behave myself." Buffy chuckled at that,"Not like you could move enough for that!" He slowly moved to make some space for her, groaning in pain. She laid down next to him, careful not to touch him and hurt him. But, in his opinion, she was lying too far away. So he slid one arm under her back and drew her closer. She was totally fine with that and laid her head on his shoulder, trying not to touch the wound on his belly. After a few minutes, she was asleep and Angel was watching her, thinking about how he deserved her until he also gave in to his tiredness and fell asleep, holding her with his strong arms.


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N.: Next chapter! Enjoy and R&R!**

When Buffy woke up, it was already late morning. She stood up to change into some new clothes. She wanted to go downstairs and see if the others had found something. Angel was still sound asleep so she closed the door quietly. Buffy came into the living room to find half of the people sleeping on the couches. Only Giles, Willow and Xander, who were used to long nights of researching were still kind of awake. "And, did you find anything?" "Buffy! No, well, we found out what kind of demon it was and what kind of poison it was but we didn't find any cure for it. In several of my resources is written that there is no cure.", Giles filled her in. "Oh, well, you'll keep on researching, right. He really doesn't look good. He was shortly awake, a few hours ago, but he looked like he was in some real pain. He didn't want to show me how much it hurt but I know him!", Buffy exclaimed. "Yes, okay, we will find a cure, it's just a matter of time.", Giles said confidently, trying to calm her. "Yeah, but time is exactly what we don't have, Giles!", Buffy almost cried. "I know!", Giles stated. "Okay, I'll go to Angel again. Please, find a cure! I can't loose him!", Buffy begged her friends and was on her way to leave the room when Wil's voice held her back.

"Oh, Buffy? Could I talk to you for a sec?", Willow asked her. "Sure, Will. Come with me."

"Come on, Willow. Spill. You look like someone died. Oh, bad choice of words.", Buffy urged her to speak. "Uh, well, we didn't actually find a cure and I hate to say this but,... you know, Slayer blood, a cure for every vampire poison, and I really don't want you to die or something, but it might be the only choice. Angel doesn't have very long anymore, I guess, and you should at least think about it.", Willow said, really hating this situation. "I know, Willow. I already thought about it. I told him last night that it might be the only way, but he refused to do it. He said he would neither drink Faith, nor me, nor Kennedy." Willow was confused, "Kennedy? Oh, yeah, you haven't heard yet. Kennedy's gone. Last night she didn't want to help Angel because he's a vampire, so Wesley told her to go and she went away." Buffy was shocked. "What? Oh, my God, Will, I'm so sorry!" But Willow only stated, "It's okay. I feel fine, I mean, of course, I'm a little sad, but she gave me the choice. It was either you or she and I took you. You have been my best friend for a long time now and I couldn't just let you down. It's really okay. I'll be okay. Now go! Cure your lover." "Thanks, Will.", Buffy said and went upstairs.

Buffy returned to her bedroom where Angel was more unconscious than asleep. He didn't even react to Buffy's touch. Then Buffy decided not to wait anymore. She shrugged out of her jacket and pushed her hair out of the way. Then she carefully sat him up and leaned his body against hers, his head in the crook of her neck. If he was somewhat still there, then the demon in him would take over and just bite her. She had to wait for two very long minutes before she felt the features of Angel's handsome face turn into those of the vampire within him. He bit down with his fangs, Buffy felt the already known pain, and he drank her blood, fed off her. With his hands he held her to him weakly. But as much as it hurt, it was still such an intensive feeling, just like 4 years ago. It was an experience she wouldn't want to miss. She felt his grip grow stronger and after some time he released her. She fell onto the bed, not moving, near unconsciousness. But he was cured, and that mattered to her. "Buffy?", Angel couldn't believe what she had done, again. "It's okay, Angel. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I just need a moment. And don't feel guilty! It's not your fault, I forced you to do it. And you're cured, so everything is fine.", Buffy said weakly. "Ok...aahh!" he suddenly screamed. Mind-numbing pain shot through him and he couldn't think clearly. He just held onto Buffy's hand. The latter had no idea what was going on and cried for help so loud all the people who hadn't woken up yet, were awake now. Giles, Xander and Willow, who had told Giles what Buffy was about to do, raced up the staircase and burst into the room. "Giles, help him! He was okay, I cured him, and then suddenly he started to scream and I have no idea what caused it!" "I might have one. When Willow told me that you were about to cure him with your blood, I remembered a prophecy I read about in the Pergamon codex. It was about the Slayer and the vampire with the soul. It said that the day would come that she would give him her blood willingly two times. And come that day, he would be made human. The Slayer blood cursing through his veins would bring his heart to beat. And I think that's what's happening.", Giles provided an explanation.

"Human?", was pretty much all that Buffy could say. "Yes, human. But he is still going to have his vampire strength and senses and the ability to heal extraordinarily fast.", Giles explained further.

Buffy didn't know what to say to that. Angel had in the meantime stopped screaming. The pain had nearly ceased and he had followed their conversation. "Buffy!", was the only thing he said. He couldn't believe what she had done for him. She had given him her blood and made him alive. She had given him her love, and even more importantly, they could be really together now. No stupid curse, no sunlight in the way, no nothing. They could be together without holding back. This was his dream coming true.

Buffy stared at him, then laid a hand on his heart, his now beating heart. "Your heart...it's beating!", she said with a sweet little smile on her face. "Yes, it's beating just for you, my love!", Angel said, having eyes only for her. At that Giles motioned Willow and Xander to get out. Buffy and Angel were oblivious to everything but the other in this moment, so they didn't even notice that someone else was in the room.

Outside Buffy's bedroom they met all the others staring curiously at them and they explained all that had happened. "Well, not the vacation we hoped for, but it was certainly interesting.", Gunn commented. "But, our vacation doesn't have to be over just yet. I mean, now that Angel could actually go sunbathing and also, the weather should get better tomorrow.", Fred said. "Good, cause honestly, I think we won't get to see those two today anymore.", Gunn chuckled. "You're right. How about we go out, have lunch somewhere?", Wesley asked. Xander, who always knew where to get good food, exclaimed, "I know just the place!"


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N: Okay guys, that's it. Here's the last chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it! =] **

Angel was still awestruck that his heart was really beating. This was more than he could ever have hoped for. And now that he had a whole lifetime ahead of him, he knew that he wanted to spend it with Buffy. But he would have to get back to Los Angeles in order to run the LA branch of Wolfram&Hart.

"Buffy?", Angel said softly. "We should talk about what we are gonna do now. I mean, I want to stay here, it's really beautiful here in Rome. But I have to get back to Los Angeles. We just took over Wolfram and Hart and we have to change a lot there. I guess we could take a few more days off, but then we'd have to return to LA." "Oh! Well, okay, I mean, I understand that you have to get back and continue the life you built yourself there in the past four years and you can't just give up everything in LA and...", Buffy just kept on babbling. It hurt to much to think that he was gonna leave her again, after all that they had been through. Angel stopped her, "Baby, you're babbling." Buffy suddenly shut up. Had he just called her 'baby'? He had never called her that before. "Do you...I mean is there anything in particular that's keeping you here?", he asked. Buffy was taken aback, "Keeping me here? I...No, I mean I only lived here for a couple of weeks. But why...?" Now, Angel was confused. "What do you mean why? Oh! You weren't honestly thinking that I would just leave you here and go back without you?" "You...you want me to come to LA with you?", Buffy stuttered. "Of course, beloved! Buffy, I'm finally human and we can be together without worrying about my stupid course or anything else. Why on earth would I miss this chance at a long, perfect life with you? You didn't really think I would leave again, did you?", he asked, almost angry with her, that she would think something like that. "Uh, I don't know. I mean, it's just...we were apart so long and....and also after, you know, my birthday, and what Angelus said, and..." Angel interrupted her, "Baby, that was... what Angelus said that morning, you know, after....it was a lie. It was all a lie. You were perfect that night. You know what made me loose my soul? The term was perfect happiness, not sex with you. Just to hold you, be there with you, see the complete love and trust in your eyes – perfect happiness. And it was perfect. Perfect and incredible. What he said, it was just a big lie!" Buffy was flabbergasted at that. Angel had said all that with such honesty and she could see all the love he felt for her in his deep, chocolate brown eyes, in which she used to get lost. "Buffy, I want you to come to LA with me. I want you to move in with me, to live with me. I have a big, big apartment, which you are gonna love and there is enough space for the both of us or even more..." Buffy smiled. "Okay, I knew I would go back to LA someday, why not do it now!" Buffy's smile grew even wider. Suddenly Angel remembered something, "Oh, yeah, and I found something of yours which I want to return to you!" He took a little blue box out of his pocket and opened it. When he showed Buffy what was in it, her eyes almost popped out. It was her silver Claddagh ring which he had given her on her 17th birthday. "Oh my God. Angel, it's...you kept it all the time?" "Of course. It's yours. And I intended to give it back to you someday. Someday as in now!" He took the ring out of the box and slid it on the ring finger of her left hand, the heart pointing towards her. She looked up into his face, only to find their lips inches away from each other. They locked their gazes and then he kissed her. First slowly and tenderly. As the kiss grew more intense he pushed Buffy back onto the bed, Angel climbed on top of her, their lips still locked in a passionate kiss. She felt really happy for the first time since ages and right then she knew that from now on, they would be alright and nothing would ever part them again. Angel kissed her even more passionately and this time, nothing interrupted them.

**THE END!!!**


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